4 Steps to becoming your own Personal Shopper

I speak to many customers who are simply overwhelmed when out shopping – and often they come back with nothing at all or items that end up sitting in the wardrobe unworn. If this sounds familiar then read on as I’ll share my Four Personal Shopper Filters approach that can help you become your own Personal Shopper and ensure you spend wisely.

The trick to being a smart shopper and being true to your own personal style is using just Four Personal Shopper Filters – colour, style, personality and practicality – which ensure you can quickly edit the shop floor and walk out with items you’ll love and wear.

Personal Shopper Filter 1: Colour

The first filter is colour. If you are confident about which colours suit you then this is the quickest and most dramatic filter. You can scan the shop floor and ignore all the colours (and there will be many of them!) that aren’t right for you. Instead you can zone in on your colours.

Personal Shopper Filter 2: Style

Next you should edit by the second filter, style. The key here is to assess all the elements of the pieces in your colours and check these are going to flatter your body shape; Does the cut flatter you? Is the fabric right? Do the details do what you need them to?

Personal Shopper Filter 3: Personality

Once a piece ticks all the style boxes then it’s time to apply the next filter, personality. Does it project the look you want to put across – whether that be at work, out socialising, on the school run or simply at home? If the personality of the piece isn’t right you won’t feel comfortable or true to yourself, which others may well notice as you’ll likely appear awkward in it and ultimately not manage to carry off the look. So it will end up in the wardrobe unloved – and having wasted your money.

Personal Shopper Filter 4: Practicality

Then the final filter is the actual practicality of the piece. Yes, the colour is right, the cut is perfect, it’s very ‘you’ but it’s really dressy so are you are ever going to get to wear it? This filter is most important when on a budget as naturally you will really want to justify the purchase to yourself. Test yourself – when am I really going to wear this? Will it go with other items in my wardrobe (although the more your wardrobe is filled with items that have been through the Four Personal Shopper Filters approach the less of a problem this will be!)?

Going through all these filters you should then have a basket of items that tick all the boxes for your personal style and therefore you will feel very confident with all of your purchases.

Are you limiting your shopping choices?

Like many of my customers you may be thinking “but won’t I be limiting myself with these filters?” To which the answer is “yes… and no!” While they will narrow your choices and could mean you end up buying less when you are out shopping you can be confident that you’ve not wasted a single penny as the items you have bought will not end up stuck in the wardrobe. You’ll also have spent less time in each store so you can cover more ground in the time you have free.

Don’t be a victim of fashion

What is true is that we are all victims of what is on trend right now. So you may find it frustrating that there seemingly isn’t a lot of your colour out there. But don’t lose heart – you can always find every colour at any given time – yes catwalk trends will determine how much of your colour is in the shops but if you look you will find. However, if you are fortunate that your colours are abundant in the shops right now then (if you can afford to) I urge you to make the most of it and stock up. It won’t last forever! This is the same for style, for years low waisted trousers were the preferred rise but thankfully high-rise has come back and now dominates, offering a more flattering cut for most women. As I’ve mentioned in my previous post it needs to be Style over Fashion every time.

Be a demon in the sales

Sale time is normally a challenge for most of us – especially as a lot of stores can resemble jumble sales and all the clothes are mixed up together. But armed with the Four Personal Shopper Filters approach you can quickly zone in on the right colours and then follow on with style, personality and practicality. Even when something is half price remember to apply the practicality filter. A half price item left in the wardrobe unworn just means you’ve wasted half the amount!

The Golden Rule of becoming your own Personal Shopper

Which leads me on to the Golden Rulewhich is however amazing the item is for one, two or three of the filters do not be tempted to skip one of the filters. They all affect your personal style in different ways but they are all of equal importance.

So I hope the Four Personal Shopper Filters approach will help you become your own Personal Shopper – so ultimately every time you are out you will be able to shop smarter, faster and cost effectively. Do you already use these techniques? Or do you have your own method that works? Do let me know below!